On the 9th, a great number of the natives came in canoes about the ship, and brought us a large quantity of fish, mostly of the mackrel kind, with a few John Dories; and we pickled down several casks full of them.

Some of these canoes came from another part of the country, which were larger, and of a better sort than the rest: the people in them, too, had a better appearance; among whom there were some of superior rank, furnished with good garments, dressed up with feathers on their heads, and had various things of value amongst them, which they readily exchanged for Otaheite cloth. In one of the canoes there was a very handsome young man, of whom I bought some things: he seem-ed, by the variety of his garments, which he sold one after another till he had but one left, to be a person of distinction amongst them: his last garment was an upper one, made of black and white dog-skin, which one of the lieutenants would have purchased, and offered him a large piece of cloth for it, which he swung down the stern by a rope into the canoe; but, as soon as the young man had taken it, his companions paddled away as fast as possible, shouting, and brandishing their weapons as if they had made a great prize; and, being ignorant of the power of our weapons, thought to have carried it off securely; but a musket was fired at them from the stern of the ship: the young man fell down immediately, and, it is probable, was mortally wounded, as we did not see him rise again. What a severe punishment of a crime committed, perhaps, ignorantly! The name of this unfortunate young man, we afterwards learned, was Otirreeoònooe.

The weather being clear all day, we made a good observation of the passage of Mercury over the sun's disk, while Mr. Green made an observation on shore. From this circumstance the Bay was termed Mercury Bay.

On the 11th, it blew very hard all day from the N. and N. by E. and a great swell tumbled into the bay, which rendered our situation a very favourable one; for, had we been out at sea, we should have had a lee-shore. The inhabitants did not venture out in their canoes this day; and, the night before, we were almost swamped in coming off in the long-boat, being upon the shoals, and the sea running high.

Voyaging Accounts